Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Florida will win NCAA men's basketball title based on famous alumni

Florida.jpg

Kentucky guard Andrew Harrison lays on the floor after losing to Florida in an NCAA college basketball game in the championship for the Southeastern Conference tournament, Sunday, March 16, 2014, in Atlanta. Florida won 61-60. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Curtis Compton)

PennLive is putting a different twist on filling out brackets for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

We asked each department in our company to have someone fill out a bracket based on their area of professional expertise. We will be rolling out their brackets until the tournament starts Thursday.

Eric F. Epler, sports reporter, says:

You could argue the list of notable graduates of Eastern Michigan University is pretty thin. While George “The Iceman” Gervin didn't exactly complete his academic requirements in Ypsilanti, we still can boast the likes of QB Charlie Batch and diminutive dynamo, point man Earl Boykins.

That said, wouldn't it be interesting to complete a NCAA Tournament bracket based on a schools' overall quality of their graduates? The criteria, however, is not open for discussion. This is my bracket, my reasoning.

Before unveiling the Final Four, it's necessary to mention the thought process behind a few early-round knockouts. In the East, it was hard to discount the Natalie Portman factor, but none of those ex-Presidents from Harvard had any serious handle or mid-range consistency. Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa and Michigan State advance.

I'm not sure how you “discover” Vitamin A but Kansas grad Elmer McCollum did it. That's not enough to trump Dr. Ferdie Pacheco and Florida in the South. Let's see, Arizona's Kourtney Kardashian or Wisconsin's Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell? Badgers in the West. Lucy Liu and James Earl Jones, both ballers, gives Michigan the Midwest.

Any university that gives an honorary degree to Bo Diddley is good by me, meaning the Gators reach the final against William S. Harley — yeah, that Harley — and Wisconsin. And the champ? Well, actor Don Ameche was a Badger, but Florida product Louis MacDowell created frozen Orange Juice concentrate. 'Nuff said.

Check out how Eric's bracket is doing against others from the Pa. Media Group here.